UMECIT officially launches its institutional volunteer program "Hands that Transform"
On July 30, 2025, the Metropolitan University of Education, Science and Technology (UMECIT) celebrated the official launch of institutional volunteering. “Hands that Transform UMECIT”, an initiative that consolidates more than two decades of social commitment, now under a renewed structure articulated with the university's mission pillars.
During the event, an emotional institutional video was presented in which the Vice-Rector General, Dr. Claudia Marcela Rueda, reviewed the 21-year history of UMEC volunteering, highlighting emblematic projects, milestones, and key figures who have left their mark on our institution.
The event featured valuable testimonials from students and graduates from various campuses, who shared how their volunteering participation has positively impacted their academic, professional, and personal development.
The Master Yelitza Gonzalez, Director of Outreach and Social Engagement, explained the four pillars that support this initiative: commitment, training, coordination, and impact, highlighting the importance of volunteering as a tool for transforming social realities and as a bridge between academic knowledge and community action.
For its part, the Academic Vice-Rector, Dr. Hermes Mauricio Sierra, invited the university community to strengthen the institutional culture of volunteering, recognizing it as an essential vehicle for forming critical, ethical, and socially committed citizens.
The event was opened by the Rector, Dr. José Alberto Nieto Rojas, who congratulated the Extension Directorate and Master Yelitza González for giving structure to the work that UMECIT has been constantly developing:
“It is essential to organize volunteerism as part of the social development of the country and the region, even extending it to other latitudes through virtual means. The substantive functions of teaching, outreach, and research only reach their fullest meaning when they serve the common good. This volunteer program is an opportunity to unite critical thinking with a true desire to serve. I encourage our students to join and actively participate.”
Likewise, the informative content available on the Social Linkage website and the official volunteer microsite was presented, in a presentation led by the Director of Communications, Dr. Patricia Lozano.
The event was attended by faculty and program coordinators, faculty, students, graduates, and administrative staff, as well as key strategic partners, including:
In-person attendees:
- Serena Méndez Foundation – Dr. Ortal Pinto
- Active Club 20-30 Las Cumbres – Attorney Carlos E. Abrego Escala
- FANLYC – Attorney Jorge Frías
- MIDES – Lic. Daniel Gómez Nate and Lic. Jean Carlos Jaén
- Football with Heart FCC – Atty. Karielys Rodríguez
- Ministry of Health – Master's Degree Cira Hoquee and Engineer Yazmín Abrego
- Ministry of the Environment – Dina Henríquez, Ms.
- Natura Foundation – Lic. Larissa De León
- Unstoppable Women – Zunny Soto, Esq.
Virtual assistants from Santiago headquarters:
- A. Pachamama Ecological Society – Eng. Ariel Solís
- Healthy Environment Panama (Ambisaa) – Lic. Zaida Santos and Laura Méndez
- Offers a Home Foundation – Magda Millares
It is worth noting that the “Hands that Transform UMECIT” volunteer program has the support of the Ministry of Social Development (MIDES), within the framework of Law 29 of 2014 and its regulations through Executive Decree No. 35 of 2021, through the National Volunteer Council.
With this launch, UMECIT reaffirms its commitment to comprehensive training that transcends the classroom and transforms realities, promoting inclusive, participatory, and sustainable volunteerism that actively contributes to human and community development.
